More Change

Want Some Wisdom With Your Coffee?

Along with what I suppose was millions of others, my weekend included a trip to Starbucks. We could have gotten coffee in any number of places, but there is something about the experience under the green and white sign that makes it a first choice for me. Lately I’ve been enjoying the coffee cup messages.

Just in case you’ve spent the last several years on a deserted island, never drink coffee, or live in a town sans Starbucks, allow me to bring you up to speed. For a while now, Starbuck has printed an editorial of sorts called, The Way I See It, on their cups. They are short philosophical statements by people -  famous and ordinary. It is the first thing I do with a Starbuck’s cup – read rather than drink. Imagine my reaction this weekend when I realized the message on the cup I was reading had been written by a person I actually knew.

(Good thing my husband, Frank, was with me so I could show off to him and avoid embarrassing myself by running around the shop, pointing to the cup exclaiming, “I know her, I know her!”)

Bonnie St. John, the first African-American Olympic ski medalist and National Speakers Association (NSA) member wrote the following as her The Way I See It #165.

 

I was ahead in the slalom. But in the second run, everyone fell on a dangerous spot. I was beaten by a woman who got up faster that I did. I learned that people fall down, winners get up, and gold medal winners just get up faster.

 

Not only do I know her, but I think her message is TERRIFIC! When faced with a change, we all need to be reminded that we’ll fall down; we’ll win if we get back up, and we can triumph if we get up fast.

P.S. This message might have even more meaning if you knew what I know. Bonnie is the second fastest AMPUTEE skier in the world. Talk about credibility for the subject and situation.

P.P.S. Go to Bonnie's website www.BonnieStJohn.com and you can get your own autographed copy of the cup - cool!

The Room Is How Much?

In December I had some work in downtown Chicago and my client suggested I stay at one of the two W Hotels in the city. I’d never stayed at a W Hotel before and I admit that I was pretty excited. They have a reputation for being a bit edgy, avant-guard, and cool.

I checked into the WChicago – City Center pretty late in the evening. The lobby was as hip-happenin’ as I expected. From the music style, low lights, and pulsing energy, you could tell it was a younger crowd. The design guaranteed if you weren’t cool you wouldn’t be hanging around downstairs for long.

(Actually I’ve never understood the sitting in the hotel lobby unless you’re waiting for someone, but that’s another post.)

Since my Northern Wisconsin travel clothes and gray hair marked me as not one of the beautiful people, I headed up to my room. Opening the door, I registered that the room was SMALL and DARK – not unusual for a downtown, metropolis hotel. Looking for and turning on all the available light switches didn’t take long. My search took me to the critical convenience – the bathroom, which I used. Where, I wondered was the toilet paper. A few minutes of fruitless searching uncovered nothing except the box of Kleenex. Fortunately that worked okay.

Now I was challenged. You can’t tell me that the W Hotel forget to put a toilet paper roll in their bathrooms. When I finally found it, I realized that being a hotel room designer didn’t actually take intelligence or common sense. Since I was certain no one would believe me, I used the camera on my Treo to document the situation. Pictures can speak louder than words! 

So, you might be wondering just how much does a stay in this cool place cost? Checking the latest rate on the WHotel website for a mid week stay, it's a mere $329.00! You just might want to take the toilet paper off the roll before you sit down!

What About Your Funeral?

In last week’s issue of Thinking for a Change, I quoted Garrison Keillor who said, “They say such nice things at funerals that it makes me sad to realize I’m going to miss mine by just a few days.”

I didn’t have time to expound in that issue, but I’ve planned my ending celebration, telling my kids what they need to do. Ever since I read the article that explained that you could have your ashes placed into fireworks, I knew I was going to go out of this world with a bang! The good news is that we have an understanding – not to mention adventurous - friend who is licensed to pack and set off fireworks. (This is definitely not a do-it-yourself project!)

There are so many things in life that are embedded with deeply set patterns and feelings that we don’t even consider that we could change both. Don’t misunderstand. There is great comfort in ritual, but even rituals started because someone did something new that others decided to imitate. Over time, the imitation of a good idea became a must-do pattern. What started as an innovation became a fashion, then an accepted practice, until finally institutionalized as a ritual. Interesting concept – rituals were born from change.

Back to my funeral. I see friends gathered in a field under a dark sky. Music playing – probably Keep Me In Your Heart by Warren Zevon. At the perfect moment, there will be a soft sound – the first launch – and a rocket will take flight, silence, a fountain of yellow will spill from the sky and those gathered will say, Ooooooh, Ahaaaa.

See Garrison, maybe you can know what they’ll say.

What's the Successful Change Difference?

          

On the plane traveling to Atlanta, GA and Marilynn Mobley, Sr. VP of Edelman and author of  Remaining Relevant in Times of Change I finally got around to reading the September 2006 issue of Business 2.0.

The article by Jeffery Pfeffer What Works - The Human Factor ended with the following. "The difference between success and failure among companies in a study of 29 small firms operating in depressed regions of the US came down to either accepting resource constraints and giving up or seeing possibilities others didn't."

Sounds like the ability to CHANGE your attitude makes all the difference!

Come On Josie, You Can Do It!

Josie has been scooting along with her own unique crawling style since early May. She had her first birthday at the end of June. In July, standing up - holding on to a reliable piece of furniture or adult became the norm. August brought the fun game of looking adorable for an adult so they'd take you for a walk. Here it is September and Josie is four steps away from walking by herself.

I've been watching Josie. She stands, holding on - one hand is okay - and lets go. She stands un-tethered and looks around. Finds something across the room of interest. Plops down and crawls full speed to get it. Why take the risk of walking when crawling gets the job done?

The resistance to change starts early! Since Josie’s parents think she’s too young, she hasn’t attended one of my programs. I’ve tried a one-on-one, talking to her, explaining that walking is a much more efficient mode of movement and once she changes, she’ll no longer have those dirty knees. None of these techniques is very compelling to a one-year-old. Josie knows she can get what she wants by doing what she knows. Until she learns that walking is to HER advantage, she’s not going to change.

It occurs to me that many of the techniques used by organizations embarking on change initiatives aren’t very compelling to their people either. Since it appears we learned resistance at or before the age of one, we’ve had many years to perfect the resistance of change. I’m going to keep an eye on Josie’s progress and see if I can figure out when she sees the initiative to change as her own idea and a benefit to her. I’ll keep you posted.

Perfect? I Don't Think So.

Yesterday's edition of USA Today had an article entitled, Spellings says No Child law near perfect. You didn't have to read far to get Education Secretary Margaret Spellings full quote.  "I talk about No Child Left Behind like Ivory soap. It's 99.9% pure or something. There's not much needed in the way of change."

Now, I'm not a teacher, but I spend a lot of time with them and I haven't heard too many classroom practitioners claim that this law is even close to perfect, but that's beside the point. Any time anyone in the public or private sector claims that what they have done is without need for change, I get nervous.

Perfection, if ever reached, is by its nature fleeting. The perfect rose looses its petals and needs to be removed so the rose bush can produce another blossom. (Hey, even I, who has killed plants on a regular basis, know this law of nature.) Call something - flower, person, or law - without need for change and you doom it to stagnation and imperfection.

It seems to me that so many in the current administration are looking for a solution that will fix a problem once and for all rather than looking for a process that will create solutions that work over time.

Madam Secretary, I'd be much happier if you'd concluded your remarks with, "When it come to No Child Left Behind, I'm excited to see what we can change to make it even better!" (The ! is optional, but I would have used it.)

Change - In the Middle

Change is often hard...especially when the change is about something you've been doing for a long time. If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. Clean your plate. Flush the toilet. Sense a pattern?

We all have behaviors planted firmly in our hearts and minds, reinforced over and over by years of doing. We do these things without one moments thought - they are habits. Whole systems are built around them. Public restrooms for example. For years, architects and builders counted on the fact that you would hear your mother's voice before you exited the stall, reminding you to flush! Worked well, mostly.

Then along came change. Automatically flushed toilets. A novelty at first. (Honestly, they scared the you-know-what out of people the first time they encountered one. My favorite is when they flush before you're done.) But of course, they weren't everywhere so we continued responsible flushing. But as Malcolm Gladwell taught us, there is a tipping point.

Finally there were more automatic flush toilets in public places than the old-fashioned do-it-yourself variety and our habits started to change. Mom's voice was silenced. We expected the flushing to occur without our active participation.

Hence the sign I discovered on the stall door in the public restrooms in the Greenheck Field House in Weston, WI. After trying to figure out why it was there, it dawned on me. The Greenheck Field House, although fairly new, was built before automatic toilets became the norm and is now frequented by people who no longer believe they have an obligation to flush. Problem! Some clever person must have decided that this sign would fill the place vacated by a mother's voice saying, "Don't forget to flush, dear." At least the day I was there the sign seemed to be working.

What I'm working on now is the equivalent for changing that clean your plate message.

On another note, this blog would not have been possible without another big change - phones you carry with you and have cameras built in. If you write a blog that is tied to pictures, more important than American Express, you never want to leave home without your Treo!